Christmas Crushes
by pottermum
Summary: It's just so cliche, having a crush on your brother's best friend.


Ginny was laying on the sofa at the Burrow when her twin brothers flooed in.

"Gin-Gin, are we glad to see-"began Fred.

"-our favourite sister," finished George.

"I'm your only sister," muttered Ginny, engrossed in the latest Quidditch Monthly magazine.

"And because you're our only sister, we want to help you," said a beaming George.

"Help me with what?" asked a suspicious Ginny.

"Why, your love life, of course. It has come to our attention-," said Fred.

"-that you have a bit of a crush on a mutual friend of ours," finished George.

Ginny sat up and looked at them. "Merlin, you haven't said anything to him, have you? I don't know if it's a crush, I just said I'd like to get to know him better. Besides, I haven't had a crush since I was eleven, and it doesn't feel anything like that one."

"Gin, Gin, Gin," began Fred, shaking his head. "You were a kid then. You're a woman now, that's why it feels different. And no, we didn't let on to our partner that you may or may not have a crush. We've just arranged it so you can spend some time together, that's all."

Ginny sighed. It was just so cliché, having a crush on your brother's best friend. Still, she wouldn't mind spending more time with him, getting to know him better, more one on one, without the other two around.

"What do I have to do?" asked Ginny.

"Tomorrow, he's spending the day at Hogsmeade. You know we're setting up our new store, and he's agreed to go in and stock the shelves. I may have mentioned to him you would be up that way, doing some Christmas shopping. He was so pleased at the thought of seeing you, he agreed to meet you for lunch."

"Why isn't he working? I thought this might be a busy time for him. Wait, I've got to go to Scotland for this so called date?" realised Ginny.

"He's got some time off, and he's doing us a favour. We've got a Portkey all set to go off at eleven- thirty, it will take you straight to Honeydukes. We've thought of everything, Gin," said Fred, rubbing his hands together.

"Well, I would like to get some Honeydukes chocolate for Mum and Dad for Christmas. Ooh, and I can go to Scrivenshafts for a nice new quill for Hermione, I know just the one she likes. It will be a nice touch for her new office. Hmm, this might actually be worthwhile, even if it's just to get some Christmas shopping done. All right, boys, I'm in. Owl him, and tell him I'll meet him tomorrow for lunch," said Ginny, with a determined nod of her head.

"Just think George, if this goes well, we could get a new brother," sniffed Fred, wiping pretend tears from his eyes.

"Good, maybe we could trade him for Percy, the prat," laughed George. Ginny joined in the laughter.

Next day, with her new jeans on, her prettiest jumper, and her hair done just right, Ginny activated the Portkey. Seconds later, she arrived in Hogsmeade. Breathless, she made her way inside, greeting the owner, Ambrosius Flume. He helped her select some of her mum and dad's favourite chocolates, and she left the store. She turned to head to the old site of Zonko's joke shop, now part of the WWW growing empire. She nearly ran straight into Harry Potter.

"Harry, hi! Sorry, I didn't see you," said Ginny, giving Harry a hug.

"No worries, Gin. You look really nice today. Are you in a hurry? Got a hot date?" teased Harry.

"Um, something like that. Ah, what brings you here?" asked Ginny.

"Day off, so I thought I'd do some Christmas shopping. Not long now! I was hoping to pick something up for Teddy," said Harry.

"Oh, me too. Well, kind of. I thought you might get Teddy a broomstick. You know, continue the Marauder tradition of the godfather giving the godson a broomstick for his first Christmas," laughed Ginny.

"You know, I had planned to, but then Tonks told me she'd cut of my bollocks if I gave him one before he can walk, so I think it might be safer for me to wait till his birthday," grimaced Harry.

Ginny laughed out loud. Harry gazed at her; she was so natural, so pretty. Without thinking, he reached over to brush some hair off her face and placed it behind her ear.

"Would you like to have some lunch? It's nearly that time," said Harry, perusing the watch Sirius gave him for his seventeenth birthday. It had been Harry's own fathers.

"Lunch? Merlin, lunch! Oh, Harry, I'm sorry, but I have to go. Talk to you soon," yelled Ginny, waving as she headed down Hogsmeade.

She walked as quickly as the snow allowed. Luckily, her date was waiting just inside the door. Ginny knocked and waved. The door opened.

"Ginny, hi, it's great to see you. You look great," said Lee Jordan, giving her a hug.

"Great to see you too, Lee," said Ginny, feeling happy that he'd noticed her looks. Not that Ginny was too frou-frou about that, but hey, when a girl made an effort, you want a man to mention it.

"I'm starving. Shall we go to lunch?" asked Lee.

Ginny nodded, and started to turn back.

"Hey, it's this way," said Lee, taking her arm. He threaded his through hers, and grabbed her hand.

"Madame Puddifoot is serving something special today," he said, smiling and winking at her.

Ginny smiled weakly. She had only been there once with Dean, and that was enough. Still, it wouldn't hurt to give it another try. It had been a couple of years ago, after all.

Ginny walked in, and looked around. Nope, it was still exactly the same. Oh wait, the singing cupids weren't floating around, shooting their love arrows everywhere. Instead, little elves were bouncing around, asking if you had been naughty or nice. Ginny sighed. She'd kill for one of Rosmerta's meals right now.

"Special place for a special girl," winked Lee. Ginny smiled weakly at him again, as he pushed her chair in.

They quickly ordered, and indulged in small talk while they waited for their lunch. Ginny told Lee how she had the Christmas break off, before starting full training with the Harpies squad in mid January. Lee told her of his plans to open the Hogsmeade WWW store, then concentrate on his DJ-ing on the weekends.

Their meals came, and the small talk continued. Ginny laughed a lot, as Lee told her lots of stories of his exploits with Fred and George at Hogwarts. Ginny knew she would be using some of the material for blackmail purposes.

With their main meal over, Ginny declined a dessert, so she sipped some hot cocoa, while Lee ate some treacle tart.

By the time their lunch was over, Ginny knew that Lee wasn't the man for her. He was a nice guy, a great friend, but that was it. Luckily, Lee felt the same.

He walked with her to Scrivenshafts where she picked up a black and gold feather quill for Hermione. She then walked him back to the new store.

"Thanks for having lunch with me. It was great to see a familiar face, and such a pretty one at that," said Lee. He leaned over, and lightly kissed her on the lips.

He pulled away, and Ginny smiled at him. "I had a great time. But I think we both know there are no sparks between us. So it's just friendship for us."

"I like having pretty friends. Well, I had better get back to it. Thanks again, Gin. You take care, and have a Happy Christmas," said Lee.

"Thanks, you too," smiled Ginny. She watched him go inside, and waved goodbye.

Ginny wandered aimlessly down Hogsmeade. She looked in some shops, but didn't see anything worth buying. She really wasn't in the mood for it now, anyway.

She found herself standing at a fence, overlooking the Shrieking Shack. It brought to mind Sirius and Remus, which led to thoughts of Teddy and Tonks. She really must get over to see them all soon.

"How was lunch?" asked a voice behind her.

Ginny spun around. "Oh, Harry, you startled me. Lunch was...nice. Lee is good company."

"Even at Madame Puddifoot's?" asked Harry, grinning at her.

"Oh, Harry, that place is terrible," groaned Ginny, laughing. "It was bad enough two years ago, but it's exactly the same."

"You should have come to Rosmerta's, she did a lovely beef stew," said Harry. Ginny groaned again.

"Sounds perfect," she said.

"She even sent some home with me for tea. There's enough for two," suggested Harry.

"Lovely! It's a date. Oh! I mean, not that it's a date or anything, but I-oh bollocks," said Ginny, turning away from him to hide her burning cheeks.

They both stared at the Shrieking Shack. "So you're over your crush on Lee?" he asked.

Ginny dropped her head. "It wasn't a crush! Merlin, I just mentioned that he was a nice guy. That's it! Next thing I know, Fred and George are asking me to meet him for lunch. I had nothing else to do, so I said yes."

Harry looked at her strangely. Ginny tried to guess what he was thinking.

"You knew things wouldn't work out with me and Lee, didn't you Harry?" asked Ginny, quietly.

Harry turned to look at Ginny. He brushed some snow from her hair. "Yes," he said simply.

"How?" she asked.

"Because you're mine," said Harry, softly.

Ginny turned quickly. "What? What did you-"

Her words were cut off as Harry placed his finger on her lips. Ginny looked into his beautiful green eyes.

He took his finger away, and moved closer. He gently placed his lips on hers.

Hello! There were fourth of July fireworks, there were New Years Eve fireworks, and there was every kind of firework from WWW going off inside Ginny right at that moment.

Harry pulled away. Ginny dreamily opened her eyes.

"Wow. Where did you learn to kiss like that?" she breathed.

"With you. Just then," grinned Harry.

"We are definitely doing that again," laughed Ginny.

She pulled Harry's head to hers and they kissed again. It was perfect.

"So, what are you doing for the rest of the afternoon? Maybe we could Apparate to Diagon Alley and look for a present for Teddy? Then you promised me beef stew for tea," suggested Ginny.

"Well, I'll have to make a stop. You see, I was supposed to be helping Lee stack the shelves at the new WWW today. I was even supposed to have lunch with the owners' sister, but she got a better offer," teased Harry.

"You? I was supposed to be meeting you?" shrieked Ginny.

Harry laughed and nodded. He pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, it'll make a nice story for our kids one day."

"Getting a bit ahead of yourself, Potter," teased Ginny, tucking her arm through his.

They headed off to the Appartion point.

"Nah, I just don't want to waste any more time. My whole life is ahead of me, and I'm excited for my future. I really want you to be a part of that, Gin. I-I think you're pretty amazing," he gushed.

Ginny knew it was hard for Harry to talk about things like this, so she was thrilled.

"I want that too, Harry. Actually, I think we can be pretty amazing, together," she said.

"Happy Christmas, Ginny," said Harry, stopping to kiss her again.

"It's the best Happy Christmas," agreed Ginny, meeting his passion.

They pulled away and grinned foolishly at each other. With her arm around his waist, Harry side-apparated them away from Hogsmeade.

To begin their future, together.

Happy Christmas to all the readers!


End file.
